Lyoto Machida (photo via Bellator / Facebook)

By FCF Staff

Lyoto Machida surprised many in the MMA world when he decided to sign with Bellator, rather than return to the UFC, and it looks like the legend’s not regretting the decision.

Following Machida’s knockout win over Vitor Belfor this past May, “The Dragon” entered free agency and ended up signing with Bellator. It ended a decade long run he had with the UFC.

Recently Machida was asked to comment on his new employers, and the vaunted striker said this (quote via MMA Junkie):

“I’m loving the treatment I’ve been getting from Bellator,” Machida said. “It feels like I’m home. I’m feeling a difference in that sense, because in the UFC, I felt very distant from everything. I wanted to talk, I wanted to ask for something, and I felt very distant. Not at Bellator. I feel close, because I talk directly to Mike Kogan, I talk directly to Scott Coker. So that makes it a lot easier. I’ve been feeling at home and, the way I see it, relationship is everything.”

“There was a concern with my career, too, something I hadn’t had in a while. That was decisive. The UFC was a lot like that at first, that’s how we were treated. Then it grew so much, and we lost a bit of that. When you have that again, you see, ‘Wow, that’s nice.’”

Machida will make his promotional debut on December 15th against former middleweight champ, Rafael Carvalho.